


I'm With You

by gumibea



Category: MAGNUM (Korea Band), TREASURE (Korea Band), YG Treasure Box (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Teachers, Fluff, M/M, mashikyu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-17
Updated: 2019-02-17
Packaged: 2019-10-29 10:58:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17806739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gumibea/pseuds/gumibea
Summary: 「高田先生, あきらめるな！」/ Don’t give up, Mr. Takata!





	I'm With You

**Author's Note:**

> this story is mainly inspired by mashiho's new haircut and their styling in the first treasure 13 vlive lmao hope you guys enjoy

Mashiho stares at the coffee pot and sighed loudly in defeat. There’s always one selfish, irresponsible garbage that takes all the coffee then leaves as if a few minutes re-filling the pot would kill them. In fact, it kills Mashiho; he thought ten more minutes sleeping in then getting coffee at work instead of making his usual dose of caffeine at home would be fine. Mashiho doesn’t need to check his watch to know he has five minutes left before the first period begins and he’d better start going but the frustration and lack of coffee only makes him want to call it a day and quit.

“Mashiho.”

Mashiho still glues his eyes on the empty coffee pot, he already knows better than anyone else in this whole school that the familiar gentle voice comes from no other than the Math teacher Kim Junkyu. There he is, looking a little too bright for a high school Math teacher on a usual Tuesday but Mashiho could not complain, the other’s heartwarming smile which seems to never leave his lips is one thing Mashiho never admits to himself that it has lightened up his mood countless times. Also, Junkyu looks good today; compared to their colleagues like Yedam, who always spotted with stiff collars and thickly knotted ties, or Hyunsuk who tends to dress quite overly “complicated” as a Music teacher, the Math teacher’s choices of clothes really suits Mashiho’s taste. On Mondays, when they have weekly meetings with the Principal, he usually appears in a dark, nicely fitted blazer with a pair of khakis and Oxfords but on weekdays, he would be more laid back with sport jackets and light-colored dress shirts; sometimes, when it rains, he goes to work with a pastel floral-print bow tie as a quirky accessory, just like he said: “So the flowers would grow and bloom.” Today, Junkyu is wearing a lilac sweater vest, that pale yet sweet and subtle tone of purple works wonder on him and so, despite Mashiho’s great effort to keep his posture, his heart had been already dancing a bit wildly at the sight of the other.

“Morning,” Mashiho utters a greeting, “If you want coffee, there is none.”

“You look tired.” Junkyu says while stepping closer. Mashiho stands still, the gap between them is convenient for him to sniff the bitter scent of citrus laced with aromatic nuance of rosemary lingering around the latter. Unlike Junkyu, Mashiho isn't so crazy about perfumes but he takes pleasure in getting a whiff of those sharp notes wafted through the air every time the older is around. He smells heavenly, usually like fresh-scented sea nuances and honey, and Mashiho feels like his caffeine-deprived brain could rest for a minute now.

“Class 2A. I’m going now.” Mashiho turns to his side, trying to crack a cheerful smile at the handsome teacher. “See you later.”

Mashiho heads towards the front door, seriously considering if it is appropriate to pull a vocabulary pop quiz out of nowhere because it could buy him some time to sit at his desk, pretending to watch over the class while getting some eye-shut moments. Hence, he missed the sight of Junkyu staring at his back while biting his lower lip as if he was considering something unconventional.

*

Mashiho loves teaching with a great passion but not so much when he has been covering for his fellow Japanese teacher, also his best friend, Mahiro for more than two weeks. He voluntarily took the role because it's the type of person Mashiho is, caring and always willing to help the others; however, the amount of lessons he needs to prepare and papers he has to grade, combining with the fact that first semester’s finals are coming don't leave any room for Mashiho to breathe. He stands outside of class 2A, adjusting his shirt collar before going in and hearing all types of head-splitting noises coming from his students on the other side of this door: Jeongwoo is shouting in desperation, asking if anyone finished Literature homework yet so he could copy a few lines for his conclusion while Yoonbin and Hyunsuk are imitating the rap diss battle between Nafla and Chaboom on “Show Me The Money 7” last night, resulting in even more shouting and yelling. The chaos ends immediately when Mashiho walks in, though he could hear Jeongwoo whisper in horror to the female student sitting next to him, asking if this period is actually Upper-Elementary Japanese.

The class still goes as planned because Mashiho is a man of responsibility, though he might have stretched the process of collecting homework a bit. He had gone through the first half of the lesson when a knock on the door interrupted his explanation of the differences between そうだ (souda) and ようだ (youda) in terms of guessing.

If Mashiho was given a chance to guess, he would think it is either Yedam, who was teaching next door, asking for a highlighter again (it happened a few times, Yedam somehow has a pen bag full of red ballpoint pens but no highlighters) or the Principal Assistant coming down for some sort of notice. He would never think of Junkyu, standing in the doorway and holding a L sized paper cup with a genuinely sweet smile that could not hide a light touch of shyness on his lips, as the reality dawned on him that how much of a surprise entrance he had just made.

Mashiho quietly watches Junkyu regain his confidence and walk straight to the teacher desk, placing the cup onto the table, next to a stack of ungraded papers. He is pretty sure Junkyu acknowledges fifteen pairs of eyes are glued on him right now but the handsome teacher still keeps his chin up as if it’s nothing out of ordinary. And it is, or it should be, as he speaks.

“You forgot your cup of coffee in the teacher lounge.”

Mashiho could tell from the signature aroma and the logo on the cup that Junkyu did not just fill the pot in the break room with some instant coffee left in the drawers but rather going down the street that leads to only coffee shop in this area selling strong Brazilian coffee with great bitterness and aftertaste. The Japanese teacher does not respond to Junkyu’s terribly lame excuse yet his eyes crinkled and a smile slowly turned up the corners of his mouth as the older leaves the room.

Mashiho sits back in his chair, quietly takes a sip of high quality hot brewed coffee, thoroughly savor the flavorful taste while watching his students work on their grammar exercises. _This is great_ , Mashiho thinks, now he is pretty sure that he could go on with the day without feeling he might pass out at any time. Later, he ponders on the thought of returning the favor.

*

Thursday comes and Mashiho lets his students go about five minutes earlier before lunch. The progress test went perfectly and to his surprise, even Jeongwoo, who often leaves one third of his paper blank, managed to finish early, giving the teacher some doubts that he might have designed the test not challenging enough. But right now, improving the test’s reliability is not on the top of Mashiho’s priority list, he’s got a lunch box that needs to be delivered to class 1B where Junkyu is still teaching.

It’s quite rare to see Junkyu stand in a classroom, speak to students in a stern voice and write everything so neatly on the green board when Mashiho is so used to seeing the latter when they aren’t teaching. Not that Junkyu-in-classroom and Junkyu-out-of-classroom are entirely two different identities, but the usual Junkyu is easy-going yet calm, and people would rarely see him frown or raise his voice.

“Kim Doyoung, you have five seconds to turn off the phone you are hiding under the workbook, put it in your bag and return your attention to what I am saying because it would be very unfortunate if tomorrow you spend 40 minutes staring at your paper, not writing anything because you missed everything today.”

Mashiho watches the kid’s face turn bright red then pale white in panic, who would have thought Mr. Kim, who was telling an old joke about obtuse angles being upset all the time because they would never be right merely a minute ago, now is blatantly making not only one, but every other who is either watching the ceiling or pretending to take notes drop all their acts and sit straight up. “Nothing would shut them up better than a pop quiz”, Mashiho chuckles, recalling what Yedam said to him when he first started teaching at this school, apparently, he gave that advice to Junkyu as well.

The bell rings sharply, cutting off Junkyu recapping what they had learned so far about using trig ratios to find unknown sides in right triangles, and also giving students a big relief. Mashiho notices a few kids have closed their textbooks while some are still looking at Junkyu like their lives depend on what the teacher says next.

“Alright, finish exercises on page 64 and 65, also I expect no one is absent tomorrow.” Junkyu yells, overlapping the sound of shuffling papers and students zipping their bags. Mashiho moves aside to let a flock of students rush past him to get to the cafeteria at the speed of lightning.

“Mr. Takata!”

“Mr. Takata, I’ve finished my paper. I wrote more than 300 words, is it okay?”

“It’s good, Jihoon,” Mashiho smiles broadly; every teacher has their favorite student in each class and Jihoon is his favorite in Class 1B; his pronunciation needs a lot more practice but he works harder than any other student at Beginner level and Mashiho wishes all of his students could have such positive attitude.

“Mr. Takata,” Jihoon seems to have another question, the kid adverts his gaze to the teacher inside his classroom then back at Mashiho, “Ouch, that hurts!”

Before Jihoon could ask whatever is on his mind, his friend comes by and drags him away. Mashiho watches the scene with amusement, then a soft tap on his shoulder brings him back to his sense.

“You need me, Mashi?”

“You can’t call me Mashi when we are at school,” Mashiho turns around, raising the box in his hand, “I brought you lunch, tamagoyaki as you like.”

“If you’re afraid that people might hear and copy my way of calling you then fine, I don’t want that to happen either,” Junkyu closes the door behind them with one hand while drawing the younger in closer by his elbow, “But I see no one around us here, you know, I could even kiss you.”

Junkyu’s lips alighted on Mashiho’s cheek feels like mushy freckled petal caught in an autumn breeze, so sweet-sounding and comforting in ways that words could never be enough to describe.

“Thank you, Mashi.”

The rest of the day goes by, with Mashiho chooses to ignore students mutter to each other about why their Japanese teacher is in such a good mood today.

*

Finals week is over before Mashiho realizes it actually is. Things are getting back on track; Mashiho comes into the break room on Monday, not expecting to see Mahiro casually chat with Yedam over coffee and biscuits. His best friend immediately walks up to him and pulls the shorter closer, wrapping his long arms around Mashiho’s small figure in a tight hug.

“Why didn’t you tell me you’re back, idiot? I could’ve picked you up from the airport.” Mashiho complains as he squeezes Mahiro back, not wanting the moment to end.

“I know you’ve been dead tired with all the work you did for me,” Mahiro replies in a hush tone then switches to their mother tongue, “I’ll repay you soon. Now I gotta let you go before Junkyu shoots lasers from his eyes and kills me right on this spot.”

“What are you–”

“I’m going to meet the Principal now,” Mahiro quickly pulls away and turns to everyone in the room, “It’s nice to see you guys again. Hey, Junkyu, nice bow tie!”

Junkyu doesn’t reply and Mashiho wants to smack his head so much for being petty. His boyfriend can be jealous sometimes and while Mashiho finds it questionably endearing, now isn’t the right time. He doesn’t need anyone in this room to have any doubt about what just happened; their relationship is not public because of obvious reasons yet Junkyu seems to collectively forget many times. 

Like he continues bringing coffee to Mashiho’s class, of course, much less intrusive than the first time but students can still see him go in and out, handing Mashiho his favorite drink during five-minute breaks. People say one can do anything in life as long as he’s prepared to take the consequences and Mashiho thinks it’s fair, however, he is definitely not ready for the concomitant to catch him off-guard so unexpectedly.

It happened when he was going over some important grammar points with his students in class 2A.

“I have explained before the finals but it seems many of you are still confused, you use そうだ (souda) to express that you are guessing something based on appearances. Anyone can give me an example?”

 **「もうすぐ雨が降りそう。」** (Mousugu ame ga furisou./ ** _It’s going to rain soon._** ) – Seokhwa quickly gave an answer.

“I can,” Inhong raised his hand straight up with confidence, the boy didn’t even wait for his teacher’s approval, **「高田先生は生まれつきの心の優しい人だと思います。」** (Takata-sensei wa umaretsuki no kokoro no yasashii hito da to omoimasu./ ** _I think Mr. Takata is a kind-hearted person._** )

 _This kid is witty_ , Mashiho smiled to himself, couldn’t help but feeling good about the compliment even though it isn’t really accurate regarding meaning.

 **「キムジュンキュ先生も良さそうな人だと思います。」** (Kim Junkyu sensei mo yosasouna hito omoimasu./ ** _I think Mr. Kim Junkyu is also a good person._** )

Jeongwoo shouted loudly, earning a playful punch in his shoulder from Yunseo sitting behind him. 

 _And this kid is not witty at all_ , Mashiho felt a knot is growing in his stomach as students starts giggling.

“Attention!” Mashiho cleared his throat, “Now with ようだ (youda), Yoonbin, tell me when do we use this?”

“We use it to express judgements based on situations.”

“Correct. When you want to say “It seems…”, you can use ようだ (youda). Remember while そうだ (souda) doesn’t follow nouns, ようだ (youda) does. Can you give me an example?”

“Yes. **「キム先生は高田先生にいつもコーヒーを持す。キム先生は高田先生が大好きになるようです。」** (Kim-sensei wa Takata-sensei ni istumo ko-hi o motarasu. Kim-sensei wa Takata-sensei ga daisukini naru youdesu./ **_Mr. Kim always bring Mr. Takata coffee . It seems Mr. Kim likes Mr. Takata a lot._** )

“The second sentence is right but the first one, you have to place いつも (itsumo) right after は (wa).” Mashiho repeatedly bit the inside of the cheek to stay calm and give feedback to his student, at the same time, he felt like his heart is exploding in his chest and his whole body is sweating.

“Is that true, Mr. Takata? Are you and Mr. Kim dating?” Jeongwoo chimed in, eyes sparkling and mouth opened; for a second, Mashiho thought his student had turned into a lion waiting for him, a confused and panicked rabbit to take the bait.

“No,” Mashiho nearly cried out, “Mr. Kim and I are friends. He buys me coffee and I bring him lunch in return. That’s what good friends do for each other, I’m sure you guys do the same thing for your friends.”

“Jeongwoo never buys me anything.” Yoonbin scoffed.

“Listen, I’m not here to give friendship advice,” Mashiho’s gut is telling him this mess is about to derail into God knows what it would be and he’s terrified of the possibility.

“Jeongwoo, please do nice things for Yoonbin sometimes. And you guys cannot make up things like that, rumors aren’t acceptable at school. Understood?”

Mashiho swore he wasn’t hallucinating that Hyunsuk and his group sitting at the back of the classroom were shooting knowing looks at each other and glancing at him up and down while Yoonbin was gesturing something with his hands to Jeongwoo, in response, the latter grinned like a Cheshire cat.

The Japanese teacher didn’t realize he was digging his nails into his left palm during the whole situation, the disturbingly red half-moons left in the middle of his palm indicates he and Junkyu needs to talk.

*

“My students are suspicious about us.” Mashiho brought up the issue when the two were preparing dinner in his kitchen. Slow-cooked pork stew was Junkyu’s idea because both of them were pretty exhausted and there wasn’t much food available in refrigerator. Junkyu insisted on doing everything by himself, leaving Mashiho sitting on the kitchen counter with a jar of salted cashew nuts in his hands. The younger waited till Junkyu finished chopping carrots and onion to drop the bomb, worrying the news might shock him but it seemingly did not.

“What are they suspicious about? I don’t remember we are planning to take over the school or something,” Junkyu continued drizzling the oil in a wide frying pan over a high heat, preparing to put the meat in, “but if you want to, Mashi, I’m down.”

Mashiho threw a nut at his boyfriend, rightfully hitting his left ear.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about. They asked me if we are dating.”

“If that’s the case,” Junkyu turned around, facing Mashiho who is clearly not happy with his reaction, “Actually, one of my students asked me something similar this week.”

“What?” Mashiho nearly dropped the jar but Junkyu was fast, he caught the jar and put it aside on the kitchen table. Then, he placed his hands on both Mashiho’s knees and started speaking, his voice is slow and reassuring.

“You’re worried, aren’t you?”

“I am. What if they found out about us? What if they tell other teachers? I don’t–”

“They won’t, Mashi,” Junkyu wrapped Mashiho in a warm swaddle of his chest and arms, and the latter heaved a deep sigh. There’s something about Junkyu’s embrace that makes Mashiho feel like all the chains tightening his worries are loosen up and a sense of optimism is finding its way into his heart. It’s affectionate yet comforting and loving; the feel of Junkyu’s body so close to his always soothed him more than he had expected.

“They’re kids. They’re curious and always looking for something to entertain themselves when trapped in school. They see us together sometimes and their minds come up with the strangest scenarios. Technically, they aren’t wrong,” Junkyu yelped in pain when Mashiho kicked him in the ankle for last part, “But they’ve got nothing on us, okay? Just shut them up with quizzes, I do that a lot when they cross the boundaries.”

“Okay.” Mashiho rested his chin on Junkyu’s shoulder, feeling the other clenched him tighter. The younger closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then he realized something had gone wrong.

“Junkyu!” Mashiho pushed his boyfriend off him, “The pork!”

“Holy shit!” Junkyu rushed to the pan, frantically turning off the stove but the burnt smell and color told him it was too late.

“I think we should call pizza.” Mashiho suggested then broke into laughter seeing Junkyu turn around with “lost” and “why the hell” written all over his face.

Pizza was delivered not along after the disaster in kitchen. Mashiho chewed on his second slice of bacon cheese fry, watching Junkyu struggle with the ketchup bag.

“Which one of your students asked about us?”

“Sooyoung. Class 3A. I don’t know if you know the kid. Pale skin, big eyes. Lots of the boys chase after her. Quite good at Algebra.”

“Is her surname Ha?” Mashiho frowned, if he remembers correctly then there must be some connection here.

“I think,” Junkyu replied half-heartedly, still struggling with the ketchup bag, “You know her?”

“Yeah. Sister of Ha Yoonbin in 2A,” Mashiho grabbed another ketchup bag, opened it in one second while Junkyu watched him as if he was performing black magic.

“I can’t believe these kids are trying to play mind games with us. We are their teachers, for God’s sake.”

“They’re pretty observant, aren’t they? Unlike that one Japanese teacher of them, who was blind to every sign saying someone is into him for several months.”

“You’re dead, Kim Junkyu. No more lunch for you, starting next week.”

“Wait, Mashi, I’m kidding.” Junkyu held Mashiho back as the younger was about to stand up and leave the living room, “That teacher finally returns my feelings, though. That’s all I’ve ever needed.”

“Gross.”

*

It slips through Mashiho’s mind sometimes, how they first met at this school. He vaguely remembered it was Tuesday, and Yoshinori was showing him around. When they came to the teacher lounge, Junkyu was there alone reading a reference book. Mashiho thought he was pretty weird when the other stared at him and the first thing he said after knowing Mashiho will be a full-time Japanese teacher here is _“Do you know how to make tamagoyaki?”_. Afterwards, Mahiro entered the room and snatched him away for lunch. The rest was blurry, too; Mashiho found it strange to see Junkyu everywhere he goes at school, and Mahiro kept saying he was dense as a doorknob. Then the New Year party came, everyone let loose and Junkyu accidentally burnt his thumb while trying to light up the candles on the cake, so Mashiho offered to take him to the infirmary to get the first-aid kit. Surprisingly, mildly drunk and injured Junkyu is much more straightforward and braver than his usual self, to the point he confessed he couldn’t take his eyes off the younger since day one. For Mashiho, he thought kissing Junkyu when he’s drunk wasn’t too bad, in fact, the next day, making out with the Math teacher in the storage room after school helped him confirm another thing: sober Junkyu is even hotter and more provocative.

They keep their relationship low-key. None of the teachers and staffs know about them, except Mahiro and nobody has ever had to worry about Mahiro spilling a secret. Mashiho thinks they’re going just fine but apparently, kids these days are really conscious of what the adults around them are doing.

Evidently, students in class 2A are persistent and Junkyu’s solution of shutting down their curiosity doesn’t really work. Even if they’ve got nothing concrete to draw a conclusion, the kids still try to mention Junkyu at any time as possible during Japanese lessons and somehow, quizzes no longer scare them. It’s like they all agreed to open “Operation: Mashikyu” (Mashiho accidentally heard over whispers across the hall when he, Junkyu and Yedam were walking together to the meeting room. The name is kind of cute, Mashiho had to admit and he might have blushed a bit, which Junkyu found too adorable to not tease him about it every day when they’re alone.) and established a bunch of strategies. Lately, their average scores of pop quizzes have been increasing and Mashiho doesn’t know if he should be happy or sad for the fact that even Jeongwoo, who scores near bottom in Japanese is now actually asking Seokhwa, the top student to help him with his study so he can raise his hand and ask Mashiho more invasive questions with proper grammar and correct pronunciation.

 _At least they’re learning_ , Mashiho tried to think positively until the odds are against him living a normal life. To be exact, it was Hyunsuk who wanted to form a duet for the upcoming school’s 30th anniversary and Mahiro, being smart as a fox, suggested a collaboration between a Korean teacher and a foreign teacher would be interesting.

“Junkyu and Mashiho should do it.” Yedam said first.

“I second this.” Seunghoon, the Head of Literature Department nodded eagerly.

“Is that okay with you? Junkyu? Mashiho?” Hyunsuk looked at them, expecting a “yes” from both.

“I’m in.” Junkyu answered with no hesitation.

“I’m not sure my voice is good enough,” Mashiho glanced away from Junkyu’s burning stare towards him across the round table, “Mahiro or Yoshinori can take my position.”

“I’m the MC.” – Mahiro shrugged then pointed to his side, “Yoshinori is responsible for the props with Yedam and Byounggon already. Your voice is fine, fighting!”

Mashiho had thought of a plan. Actually, it was more of a set of rules for himself, including not appearing in the hall alone with Junkyu during break time, not bringing lunch over the other’s class until there’s no student left and the most important, not kissing him behind locked classroom door until their students are bored of prying into their teachers’ lives and things get back to the way it’s supposed to be. But now, with the duet assigned to them, his little plan is ruined; also, Junkyu is mad at him.

_Obviously._

*

The music club was empty in late afternoon. Mashiho quietly observes his surroundings, trying to distance himself from Junkyu sitting on his right side.

“We need a song. I would recommend something upbeat, fun and trendy. Screw what the Principal said, if I was a student, I would be bored to death if you two sing a ballad from the 70s about loving life and whatnot. Even if you want to go with ballads, try something on Melon Top 100, okay?” Hyunsuk waved his hands in the air, trying to demonstrate how the stage would be.

“I’ll go check with Yoshinori about the sound system. You two choose any song you want then inform me by tomorrow afternoon, okay?”

As the Music teacher left, the room was eerily silent as neither Mashiho or Junkyu moved their chairs. Silence hung in the air like the suspended moment before a falling glass of water hits the ground and shatters into pieces. Silence between them is usually peaceful and makes both Junkyu and Mashiho feel at home with the presence of the other right next to them. Silence between them has never been the poisonous void eating up them from inside.

“Junkyu, ” Mashiho called his name quietly, his lower lip quivered as words made their way out of his mouth, “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to,” Junkyu breathed out heavily. His sigh was of a softly deflating, like the tension has lifted yet it left him with a weary disappointment instead of relief.

“It was actually my idea. I was talking to Mahiro yesterday and he mentioned about the duet thing, I asked him if it was okay for you and me to perform a song.”

Mashiho opened his mouth but words didn’t come out. He clenched his fist, unknowingly digging fingernails into his palm again.

“I mean,” Junkyu finally looked up from his lap, his eyes shifted to his side and Mashiho thought his heart had skipped a beat or two because he realized that was the same look Junkyu had when his grandma passed away and he couldn’t catch the early train to get back to his hometown. It was sadness that seeps into his bones, urging him to reach the other’s hand and tell him he was here listening to everything he wanted to say.

“I mean, if we appear in front of everyone that way, you know, professional and all, our students might stop bothering you. I should have run the idea with you last night when we were on the phone but I was hesitant, I thought I would discuss with you first thing in the morning but,” Junkyu paused a bit, “Mashi, I’m sorry for making you so uncomfortable.”

“I’m fine now,” Mashiho gave his boyfriend a warm smile, “I was scared, I am and tomorrow, I might still be. But you said if I want to take over this school then you’re with me, aren’t you? So, if you want us to sing a song in front of 1500 students and the entire teachers and staffs of this school, I’m down.”

They burst out laughing, just like it was a Friday night and they decided to stay in, watching comedy shows on Mashiho’s secondhand TV and dissolving into laughter when the comedians finish their jokes. Mashiho loves hearing Junkyu laugh, his chortle is loud and joyful, resembling a summer rain or a brook flowing merrily through the green hills. Mashiho leaned forward, naturally, Junkyu did the same and their lips met in a light, chaste kiss that both have been craving for the past few days. In a moment, the mellow touch of skin has become a little firmer as Junkyu savored the younger’s lips, feeling the quickening of his breath slowly matched his own.

It wasn’t Mashiho fault when he broke away before he loses himself. The first thing he saw from the corner of his eyes was a familiar face on the other side of the window behind Junkyu. Park Jeongwoo, eyes wide open in absolute shock, turned away and ran before Mashiho could utter a word.

“Shit,” Mashiho stood up, nearly knocking his chair over.

“What’s that, Mashi?” Junkyu tightened his grip on Mashiho’s arm, “Are you alright?”

“My student just,” Mashiho felt like something stuck in his throat, “I don’t feel okay, Junkyu. My student,”

“Hey, hey, Mashi, look at me,” Junkyu put his arm around Mashiho’s shoulders and pulled him close, “I’m here. What did you see?”

“Jeongwoo, he’s one of the kids in my class,” Mashiho managed to speak between his breath while sinking deeper into Junkyu’s arms, “He just saw us.”

“You didn’t see the look on his face, Junkyu. He knows I’m lying. Then everyone, no, Hyunsuk will probably come in here any minute now. This is not okay.”

“Maybe,” Junkyu gently rubbed the younger’s back, “We will see about it. I’m with you, always, remember? I’m with you no matter what’s going to happen tomorrow and after that.”

“We’re going to be fired. We can’t be teachers anywhere else.” Mashiho shook his head, “Our faces will be shown on TVs and newspapers. Why aren’t you worried?”

“Why should I? I have you, Mashi. We’re in love with each other and it’s never a thing I feel ashamed about. If we get fired and things get ugly, we can start somewhere else as long as we have each other. I know I might sound too optimistic but I have faith in us. Do you?”

“I do.”

Mashiho breathed more easily, feeling every muscle lost its tension to Junkyu’s warm hug. Junkyu was right, shit happened and now they’re dealing with it together.

_Together._

*

The next morning, Mashiho comes to work with a feeling that someone replaced his heart with a rock when he was sleeping. He stands still for a minute before opening the door of class 2A; hearing all sorts of outcry coming from his students on the other side: Seokhwa loudly yells at Yunseo and Dohwan to stop fighting over who’s the best Fortnite players so he can cram a few more new words from the last lesson, Hyunsuk is rapping again and everyone else seems to mind their own business. Habitually, all noises die down as Mashiho walks in with a slight smile.

And he _waits._

Attendance checking period ends in just two minutes. No different from any other day.

Homework collecting segment is just the same. Some whine and some sneakily try to copy off their seatmate’s work. Mashiho chooses to ignore all those acts.

“Pop quiz! Everything under your table, now!” Mashiho announces as casually as possible.

He glances over the third row on the left side of the room, where Jeongwoo was looking down on his paper. The boy was a little late to class today, which never happened during the semester, and Mashiho shivered at the thought that Jeongwoo had gone to see the Principal before coming here.

A thousand “what ifs” runs through his mind and weights down on his heavy heart like a torment. Ten minutes of the quiz pass like ten seconds, Mashiho walks down the aisles to collect students’ paper, feeling his muscles stiffened and anxiety is creeping up his back.

He meets Jeongwoo’s eyes when the kid hands him his paper. No shock. No disgust. Nothing.

Then, a sentence at the end of the kid’s writing caught his eyes.

 **「高田先生, あきらめるな！」** ( Takata-sensei, Akirameru na! / **_Don’t give up, Mr. Takata!_** )

*

Mashiho loves teaching. He doesn’t mind sleepless nights grading papers and weekdays living off caffeine because he knows his students are learning not only the language but also a lot more from their teachers. Therefore, he tries harder each day to not give up as his students need him and there’s always one person who chooses to be with him till the end of time.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> i used to think i don't ship mashikyu, just really adore their friendship and how they are always supportive of each other but well, the time has come and i have made the final conclusion that these two are just fucking whipped. oh my my my.


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